I believe it’s important that Americans appreciate the democratic process, but this seems to have “soft bigotry of low expectations” written all over it. From yesterday’s presidential radio address:

One freedom that defines our way of life is the freedom to choose our leaders at the ballot box. We saw that freedom earlier this week, when millions of Americans went to the polls to cast their votes for a new Congress. Whatever your opinion of the outcome, all Americans can take pride in the example our democracy sets for the world by holding elections even in a time of war.” (emphasis added) (more…)

A leading child development expert has sparked fury among campaigners after claiming that children with attention deficit disorders could be prescribed exercise instead of drugs.

Professor Richard Bailey, who has worked with Unesco as an expert adviser for physical education and sport, argued that some youngsters diagnosed with the conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be suffering from a lack of exercise.

He also said that instead of handing out drugs such as Ritalin, regular physical activity could help reduce the severity of problems for some children. (more…)

CNN editors replaced all Palestinian quotations with quotes from the US and Israel in its story ‘U.S. vetoes U.N. condemnation of Israel’s Gaza strikes’. The new, more prominent article begins with the exact same wording as the original, but all Palestinian remarks are gone.

The two versions have identical first and second paragraphs: (more…)

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration said Monday that Guantanamo Bay prisoners have no right to challenge their detentions in civilian courts and that lawsuits by hundreds of detainees should be dismissed.

In court documents filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the Justice Department defended the military’s authority to arrest people overseas and detain them indefinitely without access to courts.

It’s the first time that argument has been spelled out since President Bush signed a law last month setting up military commissions for the thousands of foreigners being held in U.S. prisons abroad. (more…)

A California man suspected of mailing threatening letters containing a suspicious white powder to celebrities and U.S. politicians has been arrested and could face federal charges on Monday, the FBI said.

Investigators identified Chad Castagana, 39, of Woodland Hills, California, as the person suspected of sending more than a dozen threatening letters to media outlets and the homes of public figures in various cities, the FBI said in a statement on Sunday evening. (more…)

Is a Coulter, Malkin, Ingraham fan(atic)…

Yes, it appears that Chad Conrad Castagana, the man “suspected of mailing more than a dozen threatening letters containing white powder to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Jon Stewart and other high-profile figures,” was a conservative and a commenter on conservative blogs. Unless there are two Chad Castaganas:

He also appears to have been a frequenter of Right Wing sewer, The Free Republic. (more…)